Last day in Scotland before I fly out this evening and one session to go with my friend, his clan, his land, and a hovering sense of essence of place starting to linger over the low lands, drifting in across the loch, calling us from this place
What is the beating heart of this living system and how is it trying to express itself in the world? What relationship does this property want to have with the local land that it now rests in? What is it calling of this local land to influence in the greater whole of the region? And how far can that be taken beyond the boundaries of our current focus?
The answers may not be clear to us yet but I woke up this morning to the vision of how connected my friend is to his land and how much of a reflection they are of each other
Both are beautiful, calm, and peaceful when you are in the presence of the low lands, the street facing side, their face and front facing residence where you stay for conversation. Yet as you move up into the back lands and the rolling hills, the wind swept mind, there is a stormier spirit, and I question the relevance of this project to this connection.
Will the work of regenerating the property up into the hills into a healthier, more stable, more rich and biologically diverse ecosystem, have a healing influence on my friend? Will helping the rolling hills back on the path to their purpose, while harmonising them back in connection with the lowlands, give my friend the space, peace, and purpose, to help this land reconnect with the local system it is nested in, while also serving as an example to the greater whole of not only how this lands heart beats, but what can be done when we work towards harmony through the lens of love
From an Australian indigenous perspective, we don’t own the land, the land owns us, and maybe that’s a new lens to see the intricate relationships that have developed here over the decades, as this work needs to reflect the connection this family has with it. A father passed it to a son, a son plans for the future, his future and the future of his children, who he will pass the custodianship of this land to when he is ready to move on
What is the legacy that is being transferred here? An asset or liability, or the burning flame of a living being as a torch for the next generation to illuminate their way through the fog of an uncertainty future? While in the process giving the purpose of the beating heart of this land back to this beautiful country for it to live and evolve with its land people, and the people of this land
It’s a strange thing to find yourself as one of the whispers in the winds of change that span a history as long and deep and influential to the world as these, that sweep across this land in this now of time
